


Death Day

by Rulerofyouall



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd Deserves Better, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd-centric, Jason-centric, M/M, Past Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Roy Harper, Psychological Trauma, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:47:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28799340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rulerofyouall/pseuds/Rulerofyouall
Summary: There is one day each year that Jason refuses to get out of bed.
Relationships: Roy Harper & Jason Todd, Roy Harper/Jason Todd
Comments: 2
Kudos: 115





	Death Day

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing!

_The clown had been laughing the entire time. He seemingly never stopped, and every time he had swum back into consciousness, he had seemed to get louder, higher pitched, more grating. Speaking of grating, it felt like someone had taken a cheese grater to his throat. There was smoke filling the room following the explosion the Joker had set off, burning his airways and coating his lungs in thick layers of soot._

_That didn't matter. Bruce would come, right? Bruce always came. He would come and save both him and Sheila, and they would all be_ safe _._

_"Bruce?" He coughed out._

_Everything hurt. His biological mother had betrayed him to the Joker, shot him twice to keep him down. The Joker had brutally beat him while Sheila did nothing but stare, and then, the bomb went off. Shrapnel was driven into all areas of his body, and now, he could barely breathe. But it wasn't too late, right? Bruce would come, and he would be able to heal and be Robin for several more magical years, right?_

_"Bruce, please. Where are you? Bruce! Please, dad, I'm in here! Please come get me!"_

_Talking hurt him. Everything hurt him._

_"Dad?" His breaths were coming slower._

_It was hard to continue as more and more smoke filled his lungs. They were loud too, the thick mucous in his throat causing wheezing. It was hard to keep his eyes open._

_"Dad, please come get me."_

_He knew nothing more._

The lights were off when Roy slipped in the room. They had been off all day from when he had left and when he had returned from the takeout place. The body under the blanket hadn't moved a single centimeter. If it wasn't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, Roy would have thought he was dead. He wouldn't voice those observations out loud, especially given what day it was.

"Jaybird?" Roy turned the lights on dimly. "Are you awake?"

"What do you want?" A messy head of hair appeared from the cocoon of blankets. 

"I got food from the shitty Thai place down the street."

His head disappeared again. "You're really selling it."

"Well, seeing as I'm banned from _your_ kitchen, I didn't have that much of a choice, babe." Roy sat down on the bed with a huff.

"I'm not hungry."

"You haven't eaten all day!"

"I'm still not hungry."

He sighed, setting the food down on the bedside table. "Jay, please."

"I don't want to."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"Lie here."

He was doing that quite brilliantly too. It was already approaching the evening, and his partner had not budged all day. He hadn't brushed his hair, eaten, or done _anything_ else productive all day. In fact, he hadn't spoken much all day, and right now was the most he had talked to Roy. Jason seemed content to brood in the darkness.

"You're here now, safe in Gotham," he started. "Stewing in your misery isn't going to fix anything."

"Nothing else will either." Jason growled out of his blanket burrito. "He is still alive, and no one seems to give a shit."

Roy sighed. "That's not your fault."

"No one ever brought him to justice for my _fucking_ murder." He brought his head out again just to glare at him. "If no one gives enough shits about me to do that one simple thing, I think I am allowed to _stew in my fucking misery_ , Roy!"

"Don't let him win." He brought up.

"Oh, I'm not. One day, the Joker is going to have a pretty little _hole_ in his forehead."

Roy shook his head. "I wasn't talking about the Joker."

Jason furrowed his brow and sat up on the bed. "Who the fuck are you talking about?"

"Bruce."

He squeezed his eyes shut. "And why would he give a fuck if I sleep all day?"

"He wouldn't, but you do. He won't fix this, and that's on him. You don't need to do this to yourself."

Jason let out an aggravated sigh and collapsed back on the bed. "I don't like this day."

"I don't either." Roy laid down as well. "Neglecting yourself won't make it any better."

"It makes me feel better."

"And drugs made me feel better." He turned over to look at him. "I know you know that doesn't make them good."

Jason threw another blanket on top of his head. "Let me self destruct in peace."

"Nope." Roy ripped at the blankets and gripped his boyfriend's arms. "Get up."

"I don't want to."

"Come on. You'll feel better if you get up." He pulled him up. "I brought food."

"I don't want to be here."

"Well, I want you here, alive and well." Roy did his best to maneuver Jason's dead weight. "Come on, there is food to be had."

Jason groaned. "The food from that place is inauthentic bullshit."

"Sorry it's not up to your high standards, but it has something magnificent in them called _calories_ , which you haven't had a lot of today."

"Nothing you do will make this a good day."

"I know, but it can be better than what you're making it."

Jason grumbled a bit, but he didn't try to get away from Roy. He counted that as a success. The archer knew how difficult it was to do anything when in a depressive spell, so any form of cooperation in getting out of bed was a good thing.

Roy shoved a box of fast food at his partner. "Eat this."

It sat in Jason's lap for a few seconds as he just stared at it. Eventually, he decided to open it, and the aroma of ~~American~~ Thai fast food filled the room. Roy agreed with Jason. It was very, very clearly not true Thai cuisine.

"This is shit." Jason stirred the contents of his box, watching the greasy substance squelch around.

"Yeah." Roy put his box down and closed it. "So...you want to order pizza instead?"

He shook his head. "The only decent pizza place is an hour away."

"Guess I'll just have to make something in the kitchen." He sighed dramatically, trailing towards the ~~forbidden~~ room.

"Don't touch my fucking kitchen." Jason all but leapt out of his bed to tackle his partner to the floor. He paused, staring at Roy now grinning on the floor. "You did this on purpose."

"Listen, you're out of that goddamn bed now." He shrugged. "There is a method to my madness."

Jason glared lightly at him and allowed him to sit up. The kitchen was as spotless as always, and there were decent ingredients around it.

He sighed. "The fuck you want for dinner?"

Roy beamed. "So I was thinking..."

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and suggestions are welcome and appreciated!


End file.
